Wire bending and forming machine.



H. W. BLOEMKER. WIRE BENDING AND FORMING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED APR. 20. 1918.

Patented Oct. 22, 1918.

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HENRY W. BLOEMKER, F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOIR, TO JOHN HANCOCK, 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA. 4

WIRE BENDING AND FOBMIN G MACHINE.

Application filed April 20, 1918.

7 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY W. BLOEMKER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful Wire Bending and Forming Machine, of which the following is a specification.

Some of the objects of the present invention are to provide a machine for forming a complete wire unit for wire fabrics; to provide a mechanism for bending a length of wire into a predetermined shape; to provide a mechanism for automatically bendin and forming a length of wire into a wire fabric unit of predetermined shape; to provide a mechanism for simultaneously forming and stretching a length of wire and to provide other improvements as will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a plan of one form of a wire fabric bending machine embodying the present invention; Fig. 2 represents a side elevationv of the operating parts of the same; Fig. 3 represents a perspective of the wire fabric unit formed by the machine; and Fig. 1 represents a detail of a portion of the bending and stretching mechanism.

Referring to the drawings, a main frame forms a fixed substantial support for the parts of the bending mechanism and carries a transversely arranged fixed arched bed 11 having a pair of laterally disposed pro ec t ing guide arms 12 secured thereto in a rigid manner and which curve toward each other but are suitably spaced apart at their opposed free ends for a purpose as Wlll later appear. These guide arms 12 serve together as a support for the wire 13 when it enters the machine andduring the shaping and bending operations.

For the purpose of bending the wlre to initially form a substantially U-shape 1n the wire and providing a pan" of loops 14 in the transverse bridge piece 15 as shown in the fabric unit 16 of Fig. 4, there is a d sk 17 provided which is'bolted or otherwise fixedly secured to the frame 10 and has one end suitably located on the bed 11, in uxtaposed relation to the length of wire inserted for bending urposes; and having a recess 20 of a dept and length suflicient to form the reentrant bridge piece 15 in the wire. The die recess 20 with respect to the sides of the die forms a pair of loop formers 21 Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 22, 1918.

Serial No. 229,773.

of a size and shape to give the desired loops 14 to the wire when the legs 22 are bent to the finished position of Fig. 3.

In order to shape and bend the wire about the fixed die 17,. there is a movable die 23 secured to or integral with a reciprocable member 2 1 which is guided and slides freely between a pair of transverse strips .25 and 26 arranged in superposed relation but suitably spaced by liners 27 to permit free movement of the member 24 between the said strips. Suitable supports 28 are bolted with the strips and 26 to the frame 10 to bring the die 23 into proper alinement with the die 17 and with the bed 11 upon which it is adapted to slide into and out of operative relation to the die 17. The forming end of the die 23 is provided with a tongue 30 adapted to enter the recess 20 of the fixed die but having a width less than the length of said recess 20 by an amount substantially equal to twice the diameter of the wire used in the fabric sothat the wire can be pressed by the tongue 30 into the recess 20 to be given the desired contour.

For the purpose of completing the initial forming and bending operation, there are a pair of fingers 31 provided respectively at the sides of and in the plane of the die 23, each of which terminates substantially be yond the base part of the tongue 30 to form recesses 32 respectively opposed to the loop formers 21 whereby as the fingers 31 move forward to straddle the die 17 the wire 13 is bent at each end into abutting relation with the sides of the die 17 while the formers 21 enter the recesses 32 and form the loops 14c. The fingers 31, in the present instance, are integral with a U-shaped element 33 which is guided by and between the strips 25 and 26 and likewise supported and guided at its outer end by transverse strips 3 1 and 35 spaced in superposed relation by liners 36 and fixed at the proper height above the frame by supports 37 and bolts 38 joined to said frame 10.

i To maintain the wire 13 in proper position and to prevent kinking thereof during thebending operation, a pair of guide arms 40 are provided which are respectively pivoted at 411 to the movable element 33 and each terminates at one end in a follower 4:2 in the form of a downwardly projecting lug which is supported by and rides upon the upper surface of the bed 11. These followers 42 are ,disposed on oppositesides of the die. parts so that each contacts with an end'of the wire 18 and follows its movement during the bending together of the parts of" 22 so thatv when the unit forming the legs the legs 22 lie in contact with the sides of the die 17,k he sa1d followers 42 have moved toward each other and'firmly press the wire against the die 17. This eonvergin g-:movement .of the followers 42 is accomplished by providlng the arms 40 withcamshaped hook ends 43 respectively, which are arranged to other pin 45 of each pair guides the adjacent arm in its movement "and serves to re-- turn the parts to normal position.- The the arms 40 is caused swinging movement of by .the movement of the element- 33 when the fingers 31" are reciprocated.

Reciprocation of the movable dieparts.

takes place through the operation ,ofa cam and spring mechanism under the control of a rotatable shaft-.46 mounted in bearings 47 fixed to the'frame. 10, said'shaftcarrying cam-s 50 and 51' which are fixed'to rotate therewith. The cam 50 is positioned=to engage one end of a lever 52 pivoted uponqa spindle '58 transversely. disposed on the frame 10 and which also, pivotally carries a second lever 54 having one of movement of the cam 51. v The arrangement is such that the cam 51 contacts with and shifts the lever 54 in advance of the engagement ofthe cam 50 with thelever 52. The lever 52 projects beyond its pivotal pointerfulcr'um and passes through the frame 10' where it seats with a snug fit in a recessj55 of the element 56 is securedat one end to the upper pro.- jecting part of the lever 52-and at its other endisfastened to the fixed strip 34' so that afte'rea movement of the lever, 52 in one direction, caused iby the, cam 50, the :parts will be returned by the spring 56 and the lower end ofvthe lever 52 will also be returned to position to be moved by th'e'cori-v trol cam 50., A second co i1.spring;57'connects f the opposite side, of, the element with the'fixedstrip 34 to prevent binding of the; slidable element and to. insure prom-pt; action of the parts, The lever 54 is also pivoted uponthespindle,53 jand extends upwardly; throughthe framelO where it fitssnuglyina recess, 58' of the movable die. partf24 while, a coil spring 60 which is connectedlto the, endrof the lever 54 and to thefixed strip 34 insures the lever- 54' being returnedafter the action of thecam 51; A second coil, spring 61 isv connected, between the said'fixed strip, 34, and the movable -,die

element 24, where y the latter is, returned quickly to its initial position.

For operatmg the shaft-46, suitable gears throws the-hook end end in the path A coil spring;

62 and63 are provided, the former being keyed'to the shaft 46' and meshing with the latter, which is keyed to the main driving shaft'64a In order to form the reversely bent hooks 65 ofthefabric unit, the ends of the avire 131,

fixed to rotate withthe-shaftf'46; In connection with the pins '66 and 67,'it should be noted that the twopins 66 are fiXedto the respective sides of'the pinion 68 slightly off center-by the-same radial-distance while the pins 67 are fixed to the" respective sides of the, pinion 68 a greatendistance off center, botlnhowever; beingthesame radial distance from the center of'the pinion. Theecceutric-movemen-t of v the pins 67 serves to bendthe respective ends oil the wire about the respectivepins 66 asa center-while the eccentric'movement of the pins 66 serves to stretch the wirelongitudinally of its length a proper amount.

in the operationof themachinea'length of wire suflicient to form the complete fabric unit-is placedlin positio-n'across the arms 12 above thebed 11 as in'dicated'in Fig. 1, witlranend abutting the'end-gage 7 which determines the accurate placingof the wirc;len-gth.- The machine h'a-vingbeen started, the ca1n51 first contacts with the lever which is" then rocked on its pivot to, advance-the-die melnber-24 toward the fixed die 17 and thus press the wire at its middle portion into the recess 20 of the die 17.1 During this forward jmovement of the with the hook'cams 43. lVhile'this bending takes place the; die, 23 is held'stationary by the rest" portion of the cam and thedie 23 remains in this position until the hook; {ends 65. are formed, .though the bend-inggfinger element 33ihas' in-the meantime returned to its initial position due;t0 the act-ion of the springs-56 and 61 and" the relativelyshort cam surfaceon-cam 5O; The completing of the bending and forming finds th'e-ends-of the wire legs 22 respectively between the pairs of pins 66 and 67 indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2. In this position, the shaft 46 has reached a point in the revolution Where the crank 73 shifts the rod 72 in the proper direction to move the rack 71 to turn the pinion in the direction of the arrow Fig. 2. The pins 67 therefore simultaneously engage the two wire ends and as the turning continues, bend them about the respective pins 66 as a center to the position indicated in Fig. l. I11 connection with this bending of the wire ends, it is important to note that the eccentricity of the pins 66 causes the wire to be stretched longitudinally of the legs and drawn out somewhat so that the metal has nearly reached its limit of elasticity when the hooks 65 are completed. This prevents the fabric in assembled condition from stretching further under tension and overcomes the sagging common to wire fabric in general use.

It will now be apparent that I have de vised a novel and useful construction which embodies the features of advantage enumerated as desirable in the statement of the invention and the above description and while I have in the present instance shown -and described the preferred embodiment thereof, which has been found in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results, it is to be understood that the same is susceptible of modification in various particulars without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

lVhat I claim is:

1. In a machine for forming a wire fabric unit, the combination of a fixed die having a recess therein, a movable die adapted to press a portion of a Wire into said recess, means to operate said movable die, means operable in timed relation with respect to the movement of said movable die to bend the ends of said wire respectively against the sides of said fixed die and a pair of followers operated by the movement of said bending means adapted to contact with and hold said ends against said fixed die.

2. In a machine for forming a wire fabric unit, the combination of a fixed die having a recess therein, a movable die adapted to press a portion of a wire into said recess, means to operate said movable die, means Copies of this patent may be obtained for operable in timed relation with respect to the movement of said movable die to bend the ends of said wire respectively against the sides of said fixed die, a pair of followers operated by the movement of said bending means adapted to contact with and hold said ends against said fixed die and means to bend said ends to form a pair of hooks.

3. I11 a wire bending machine the combination of means for holding a wire from endwise movement, means for reversely bending the respective ends of said wire and simultaneously stretching said wire in the direction of its length.

4. In a Wire bending machine, means for holding a Wire from endwise movement, a rotatable member, means to turn said member about its axis, a pair of eccentrically ar ranged pins secured thereto and adapted to receive the end of the wire between them, one of said pins being off center a distance greater than the other, whereby the turning of said member bends the wire about one of said pins and simultaneously stretches said wire.

5. In a machine for forming a wire fabric unit the combination of a fixed die having a recess therein, a movable die adapted to press a portion of a wire into said recess, means to operate said movable die, means to bend the ends of said wire respectively against the sides of said fixed die, and pairs of pins spaced apart and rotatable about a common axis for bending the respective ends of said Wire.

6. In a machine for forming a wire fabric unit the combination of a fixed die having a recess therein, a movable die arranged to press a portion of a wire into said recess,

means to operate said movable die, means to bend the ends of said wire respectively against the sides of said fixed die, a rotatable member transversely disposed to the path of movement of said movable die, a pair of eccentric pins projecting from each end of said member and means to turn said member at a predetermined position of said Wire, whereby the ends of said wire are bent to form hooks.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name.

HENRY W. BLOEMKER.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

